DALLAS – A Louisiana teachers union and the school district in St. John the Baptist Parish are suing the state for $200 million over a four-year freeze of state aid to public education.
A hearing is set for Sept. 23 in a Baton Rouge state district court in the suit against the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Louisiana Department of Education.
Attorneys for the Louisiana Association of Educators and several local chapters of the teachers union have asked Judge Michael Caldwell to certify the action as a class action suit covering all school districts in the state.
The suit contends that school funding measures since 2009 have been flawed, costing the districts in Louisiana a total of $200 million.
The case is based on a ruling by the Louisiana Supreme Court that the fiscal 2013 school aid package was invalid because it was not filed properly with the Legislature.
The plaintiffs in the current suit charge that the funding plans in fiscal 2010, 2011, and 2012 were similarly invalid.
“We need to adequately fund the institutions where the majority of Louisiana’s students learn,” said Joyce Haynes, president of the union. “And a majority of Louisiana’s students learn in public school classrooms.”
A spokesman for Superintendent of Education John White said the department distributes whatever funds are provided by the Legislature.
“While it is the Legislature that appropriates funds, not the Department of Education, we can provide the court testimony and information to assist in resolving this issue,” said spokesman Barry Landry.
